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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Interview with author of The Persnickety Princess Falcon Storm

About the Author - Author Interview - About the Book - Prizes!!!

About the author:

I
was born in the frozen wasteland of Alaska with the unfortunate stigma
of being both a daydreamer and left-handed. Starting from an early age,
I've filled my life with stories of every sort from my father's hunting
trips to the Holy Trilogy (read: Star Wars). In the fourth grade, I
became more interested in telling stories of my own than listening to
those of others. Doctors—being doctors—attempted to medicate them out
of me, but the best cure has always been a pen, a notebook, and my
crazy, unrestrained imagination. I continue to whittle away at these
stories in my endless search for the one that will finally bring me back
to reality. All the while, I secretly hope such a story will never come
along. I hear "reality" is far too boring.

How did the story of The
Persnickety Princess come about?It was one of the wacky
conversations that I had with a coworker during the closing shift one night. The
idea was initially very dark, mostly because we had been talking about gothic
princesses. Lavender started as a bored and spoiled princess sending suitor off
on impossible quests, but by the end of the night, she was more like how she
ended up in the book.

Is the story/characteristics
based on anyone in the real world?The story not so much, but several of the
characters received traits from people in my life. I know
that no less than ten people went into Lavender's personality, where as Petunia
was largely based on the coworker I originally discussed this story with. Upon
A. Time is my silly side and Natalie... Well, Natalie is based on a few good
witches I have met in my travels, with a smattering of magic and a dash of my
own clumsy nature mixed in.

What started you to put pen to
paper? When did you start writing?In July 2011, I went to San Diego Comic Con to pitch an idea
for a graphic novel with my boss, the artist. We were both in retail and
dreaming of ways to actually use our talents. The pitch didn't really happen,
but I did get to speak to a lot of writers as well as sit in on a seminar by
Christopher Moore. By the end of our week there, I found myself sitting on a
plane and writing down character traits and physical descriptions of every
character. At the time, I believed it would be a picture book, so I gave my
descriptions to my boss. Life sort of cropped up in the mean time and the story
was put on hold for a bit. It had been on a back burner for a while when my
lovely wife, Emlyn Chand, actually convinced me to start writing it. I started
writing on January 1st of this year after I decided to shelve an idea that i had
been working on for a year. I had already plotted out the general idea of
The Persnickety Princess, but I finally got around to
actually writing it.

How did you feel writing the
book?It may sound a bit peculiar, but I felt like a dad at
bedtime. Weird, right? But as a kid, come bedtime there's always that one story
you wanted to hear. As I was writing, I pictured myself telling this story to my
future kids. Then, I wrote the story I wanted to tell them. With every revision
and edit, it felt like I got to go back and refine the story a bit without the
kids whining that it wasn't the way the story went. So I guess, more
than anything, I felt paternal.

Now your book is published what
has the feedback been like?I've been in a daze since launch. This dream has been
building for so long that it almost doesn't feel real now. Feedback has been
good and I'm glad that two of my favorite characters seem to be the ones that
people want to see more of. (Which is good since both Natalie and Upon will be
back in the next book)

If you could live in a
fairytale, which one would it be and why?There are so many great fairy tales it's hard to pick just
one. The madness of Alice in Wonderland always appealed to me and I could see
myself joining the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, but the constant threat of
decapitation would weigh heavily on me. Neverland has mermaids and pirates and
pixies, oh my. Plus the ability to fly is a strong plus, but the Lost Boys seem
to be one boar short of a Lord of the Flies moment. These
are the two I always get stuck on, in fact my dreams will probably split the
distance when I go to sleep.

Did you read as a boy? What was
your favourite book/s?I read everything. It really didn't matter what there was to
read, whether it was my language arts textbooks, random books from the school
book fairs, or medical reference guides, I loved to read. Favorite books as a
boy? That's tough to decide. I remember really enjoying the Encyclopedia Brown
books as well as Louis Sachar's Wayside School books, but if I had to pick one
that really stood out it would have to be Frank E. Peretti's This Present
Darkness.

Who inspires you with
writing?I've always enjoyed reading, but it was around 1993 when I
started reading Michael Crichton. From then on, I didn't just want to read
books, I wanted to write my own. Aside of Mr. Crichton, I was also inspired by
Christopher Moore, Terry Pratchett, Louis Sachar, Timothy Zahn (as well as most
of the Star Wars Exapanded Universe authors), and last but certainly not least, Emlyn Chand.

Is there anyone in particular
who supports you?My wife has been so amazing
through this whole process. She was my first beta reader, my first editor, my
first cheerleader. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for her support, there's
no way I could have done any of this.

Are there any more stories in
the pipeline?Well, the next two in the Upon
A. Time Tales are Natalie the Not-So Nasty and The Perils of Petunia. Of course,
I have another twenty-one ideas for this series that I plan to write. As long as
weird or silly ideas pop into my head, I will always have something to add to
Upon's wanderings. I also have a side project that I've been working on for a
little bit. While I'm not ready to give out very many details about that
project, I can say that it will be for an older audience.

Does your creative side ever
stop to relax? How do you like to unwind?Unfortunately the creative side
is constantly chattering away, so to unwind I have to find something that either
redirects that energy or simply entertains me. I play video games, I've
participated in community theater, I watch movies, read books, and a lot of the
time, I just write something that makes me laugh.

About the book:

High up in the tallest tower of the purplest castle in the Kingdom by the Sea, Princess Lavender awaits rescue. Desperate as she may be, only the most dashing, well dressed, properly mannered prince will do. Oh, and he must stand exactly four and three-quarters inches taller than her. A princess has got to have standards, after all.

When, finally, one such prince comes to her castle—not to rescue her, but her younger sister—Lavender refuses to be ignored. Instead of waiting for the next suitor to come along, she devises a plan to put herself in danger, thus forcing the upstart prince to forget her sister and rescue her instead.

Well accustomed to getting her way, there is only one thing, unfortunately, that this princess can’t control—her luck. When her plans go awry, putting her in very real danger, will she allow the prince to rescue her as he sees fit? Will he even want to try?

And will anyone be able to find a way to rescue Lavender from her persnickety ways once and for all? Find out in this comedic tale of princes, dragons, and dreams that just may come true.

The Persnickety Princess is a lower grade chapter book intended for kids 6 to 9 years old (although kids of all ages are sure to enjoy it!

(3) a Princess Prize Pack, which includes a plush purple dragon, necklace with lavender pendant, The Fairy Godmother's Guide to Being a Princess, tiara and wand party set, and a DVD of The Princess Bride.

Here's what you need to do...

Enter the Rafflecopter contest

Leave a comment on my blog.

That's it!One random commenter during this tour will win the $50 gift card.

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The Beauty of Books

Our Favourite Book Quote

We were reading a book the other day and laughed out loud when we realised we could of been reading about ourselves or any other bookseller for that matter, we thought you might enjoy the little snippet....

However dull and dingy the shop may have appeared in the eyes of most people, to one person it was the most delightful spot on earth, and that person was none other than the owner of this collection of literature, some of which was remarkable for its antiquity if nothing else.

Bartholomew Stranges whole world was in his shop, beyond it he had no ambition, no affection, no desires. He loved his books simply for their own sakes, not for what he got by them, indeed it cost him such a pang to part with them, that if it had not been a necessity he would have refused to do so. Often if anyone wished to purchase a favourite book he would put a large price on it so as to keep it in his own possession, and be willing to wear the scantiest clothes, and live on the plainest food, if by this means he could keep his precious treasures.....

From Beckie's Mission or Mr Bartholomew's Little Girl by L Marston, published by John F Shaw & Co, circa 1919

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